Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 104471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
I take his hand and gently squeeze it. “I’m Evie Starling, sir. I work for Reid Hunt. We’ve spoken on the phone.”
“You what?” Lottie laughs. “When did you two talk on the phone?”
Kevin ignores that and smiles at me. “I left a couple of messages with you asking Reid to call me. Are you here about his house?”
Lottie’s eyes widen. “Reid owns a house? Randall said he had a gorgeous apartment in the city.”
I focus on Kevin’s face. My heart already knows the answer to the question I’m about to ask, but I take a deep breath and ask it anyway, “Does this house belong to Reid?”
Still holding my hand, he nods. “It was his grandparents’ home. He grew up here, but he can’t seem to let it go. I’ve known him since he was a little sprout. I’ve been helping him with the yard and minor repairs, but since I tripped and broke my arm, I haven’t been up to it.”
I turn my attention to the house that was once the home of the man I love. “It’s beautiful.”
“She’s in love with it.” Lottie laughs. “It struck a chord in her.”
Kevin tugs on my hand. “I’ve been trying to reach Reid to tell him I was injured and need help with the house. He hasn’t returned my calls. I know the house is a source of pain for him, so I’m not surprised he hasn’t been in touch in a some time.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I tell him. “I’ll handle it for you.”
Lottie’s phone rings, interrupting the conversation. We stand silently by when she takes a few steps away to answer it.
I can tell immediately it’s someone from Howerton House. That’s the venue she chose for both the ceremony and the reception. As she tells the person on the other end of the call that the white lights they are stringing on the terrace aren’t the right size, I smile at Kevin. “She’s getting married at the end of the week.”
He winks. “Understood.”
As soon as her call ends, she rushes back toward us. “I need to go choose new lights for the terrace. The ones I picked were damaged when someone dropped the box they were stored in. This is a disaster.”
“I can go with you,” I offer, but my heart isn’t in it. I want to stay here and talk to Kevin about Reid’s childhood home.
“No,” she says to my relief. “I’ll go take care of that. We can meet back up later this afternoon if that works for you.”
“That works.” I take her in my arms for a hug. “If you need anything, call me.”
“That works both ways,” she reminds me. “It was nice to meet you, Kevin. I’m sure I’ll see you around again after we move in.”
“The pleasure was all mine.” His face beams with a smile. “Congratulations seem to be in order, so I wish you nothing but a perfect wedding and years of happiness to follow.”
“Thank you.” She looks up from the screen of her phone. “There’s an available rideshare less than a block away. Maybe my luck is turning around today.”
Maybe it is.
My phone buzzes with a notification, so I read the text message Reid just sent to me. I have yet to reply to any of his messages since I overheard him talking to Baden and Vance, but this one is different. This one makes my heart skip a full beat.
Reid: I’ll make this right. Whatever it takes, I’ll fix this because you’re the only thing that matters to me, Evie. The only thing.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
Evie
We wave goodbye to Lottie as the car she’s in drives away, headed to Manhattan. I’m glad she didn’t insist I go with her. I want to talk to Kevin more about Reid and this house we’re still standing in front of.
“Do you think you can convince Reid to hire someone else to take over until I feel up to it again?” He adjusts the sling he’s wearing. “The doctor said I’d need a few weeks of physical therapy once the cast and sling come off, so I should be good to go in about a month and a half.”
“I can take care of all of it,” I assure him. “I’ll help out today. I’m dressed for work.” I stop talking to let out a burst of laughter. “Yard work, that is.”
He glances at the purple T-shirt, jeans, and black sneakers I’m wearing. Unlike Lottie, I didn’t opt for a showstopper outfit when I got dressed earlier. She decided on white pants, a red blouse with a tie at the waist, and bright red kitten heels.
“You want to take on some of this yourself?” He perks both brows. “You don’t need to get to the office?”
I understand his curiosity, but I shake my head. “I used to love helping my dad out in our yard. I miss it.”